Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas, was killed in a confrontation with the Israeli armed forces in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, as confirmed by official sources from both sides between Thursday and Friday.
The Israeli army reported that the death of the individual who was considered the mastermind behind the attacks on October 7, 2023, occurred during a patrol by the 828th Bislamach Brigade, which was operating in Tal al-Sultan, a residential area of Rafah.
Specifically, the soldiers detected three fighters moving from house to house and after a brief shootout, all of them were eliminated, with one of them later identified as Sinwar, who apparently was trying to move undetected.
Corpse conditions
The Hamas leader's remains were found with a bulletproof vest, a gun, and an estimated $11,000 in cash. Among the details that stood out the most, it was revealed that the Israeli army confirmed his identity by cutting off a finger to conduct the respective DNA tests.
Some consider it all to have been a stroke of luck, as the Israeli forces were unaware that Sinwar was in the area when the confrontation began, as confirmed by military spokesperson Daniel Hagari, indicating that while the troops had been tracking his movements for some time, his exact location was unknown until that moment.
Drone images captured the final moments of the Hamas leader, showing a man apparently injured inside a partially destroyed building. It appears that Sinwar, who had been in hiding for over a year moving through underground tunnels in Gaza to avoid capture, attempted to repel the drone by throwing an object before being shot down.
Despite this blow, Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the time of the confirmation of Sinwar’s death that the war in Gaza is not over. “This is a crucial moment in our struggle, but we are not finished. We will continue until all hostages are home and evil is defeated.”